Everyone is Broke But YOU Don’t Have to Be a Debt Slave Any Longer

Look around in this fancy land
called the U.S. and you’ll get the impression that people are just rolling in dough.
They got fabulous new cars, expensive houses loaded up with imported goods, the
latest smart phones, designer wardrobes, and they’re never about to turn down a
good time.

In reality, 80% of Americans are in debt and living paycheck to paycheck.
Which means most of us are broke, and almost nobody owns anything at all. All
that great stuff you see all around isn’t true prosperity, it’s owned by banks
and it all serves as chains in a modern form of slavery.

We’re part of an economic and monetary system built on debt,
and our culture has been warped by decades of scientifically minded marketing,
advertising and consumer programming, and our cities and communities have been
designed and organized for shopping, not for sharing and communing. Strip malls
and big box stores have replaced the town square.

It is what it is, and it’s not going
away any time soon, but the personal consequences of chronically being in debt
are severe.

There’s the stress and worry of it all,
and what that does to your health. There are the lost dreams and wishes
unfulfilled. The exorbitant and crushing bank fees, penalties, and high
interest rates, backed up by collections agencies and organized harassment. The
damage it does to marriages and the
broken homes, and perhaps most insidious, there’s the spiritual
malaise of being a slave.

But you can escape. Anyone can. I
mean, to be honest, you’re not going to escape the disaster of government debt,
because as individuals we have no control over what the lunatics and crooks in
government do. That’s another conversation, but you don’t have to tolerate a
life as a slave to personal debt. You don’t have to live forever with student
loans, car payments and mountains of credit card debt.

What’s at stake here is you freedom.
That is, the quality of your life in the short time you get to be alive here on
earth.

Financial literacy is not something
most of us learn in school, and so very few of us have had positive examples of
this in our lives, but there is a system to get out of debt that works very
well, and there is a network of support that can teach you how, get you
inspired, and keep you motivated as you walk your own path to freedom.

Having found myself in deeply debt a
couple of times in life, and then working my way to being 100% debt free, I can
tell you that there is really no feeling quite as joyful as being free.

The method I have found that works
the best to achieve this is referred to as the ‘debt snowball’ and is outlined
in the book, The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial
Fitness by Dave Ramsey. I was about to spell it out for you when
I found an exceptional breakdown of it by Daisy Luther of the excellent blog, The Organic Prepper. Check
it out, as it is the quickest way to get yourself out of debt.

Dave recommends something called
“the Snowball Method” for repaying debt quickly. Imagine a snowball at the top
of a hill. As you roll the snowball, you pick up more snow, and the
snowball gets bigger. By the time it’s at the bottom of the hill, it’s huge.
You can do the same thing with debt by paying off the smallest bill first, then
applying what you’d normally pay on that lowest bill to the next bill. Continue
adding the minimum payment for each paid-off bill to the next largest one until
all of your debt is repaid.

This method assumes you have enough
money coming in to make your basic payments, plus a little bit extra. If you’re
in a situation in which you truly do not have enough money to pay your
bills, this article will be more appropriate.

I have personally used this
technique to attack debt, with a few tweaks of my own.

Here’s
a more detailed explanation of how the Snowball Method works.

1.) Write down every penny you owe. This is tough love, and it’s painful, but go
through all your bills and write down your totals. Most people find that the
total is higher than they expected. The good news is, if you are truly
committed to paying off your debt, this is the highest that it will be.

2.) Organize the bills from smallest
to largest amounts. This may not seem like
it makes much sense, but trust me…there’s a method to the madness here.

3.) Write another list of the
minimum payments for each bill. This
is your baseline of payments each month. For the sake of ease, let’s say there
are ten bills with a total of $750 in monthly minimum payments.

4.) Now, figure out the rest of your
budget. Once you pay your rent/mortgage,
buy groceries, and pay the utility bills, how much money do you have on top of
your $750 a month? For this exercise, we’ll say you have an extra hundred
dollars.

5.) Your worksheet might look
something like this:

6.) Now, you’re going to start
putting all of your extra money on the lowest bill each month. So, the first month, you make all of your minimum
payments, put $80 extra on the Victoria’s Secret bill to pay it off, and then
apply your leftover $20 to the JC Penney’s bill.

7.) The following month, take the
minimum payment from Victoria’s Secret, the minimum from JC Penney’s, and
your extra $100 to pay off your JC Penney’s debt. Keep in mind that due to
interest, your other debts will not change much at all if you are only making
the minimum payment. For the sake of this exercise, we’re living them as they
are to demonstrate that.

8.) The month after that, you’ll
combine all of your previous minimum payments with your extra hundred dollars,
plus the minimum for Target for a total of $185 against that bill. It will take
you two months of snowballing to pay this off.

And that’s how you pay off consumer
debt quickly.

Being debt free as an individual is one of the most important things you can do for your happiness, security and for your family. Since pretty much everyone you know is doing the ‘normal’ thing of being a debt slave in an overly consumeristic culture, do yourself a favor and check out The Dave Ramsey Show and take back your freedom from the banks and credit card companies.

Dylan Charles is the editor
of Waking Times and co-host of Redesigning
Reality, both dedicated to ideas of personal transformation,
societal awakening, and planetary renewal. His personal journey is deeply
inspired by shamanic plant medicines and the arts of Kung Fu, Qi Gong and Yoga.
After seven years of living in Costa Rica, he now lives in the Blue Ridge
Mountains, where he practices Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and enjoys spending time with
family. He has written hundreds of articles, reaching and inspiring millions of
people around the world.

About Wes Annac and Openhearted Rebellion

I'm a twenty-something writer & blogger with an interest in spirituality, love, awareness, activism, and other crazy stuff. I operate Openhearted Rebellion, a blog dedicated to sharing wisdom and encouraging a revolution that begins in the heart.
I've contributed to a few awesome websites that include Waking Times, Wake Up World, Golden Age of Gaia, and The Master Shift.
I can be found on Facebook (facebook.com/wesannac, facebook.com/cultureofawareness) and Twitter (twitter.com/Wes_Annac, https://twitter.com/love_rebellion)